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Lydia, 10, earns her place at the Cenotaph

Valentine Low

November 14 2011, 12:01am, The Times

With the Queen leading the nation in its annual act of remembrance at the Cenotaph yesterday, and the Duchess of Cambridge making her inaugural appearance on the balcony overlooking Whitehall, it would be have been easy to miss Lydia Cross.

However, once spotted, she was easy to recognise: she was the 10-year-old girl marching determinedly with the veterans and wearing a pair of prosthetic legs decorated with poppies.

The legs were new, made especially for the occasion: Lydia’s courage and resolve, however, are already well-tested. Having lost her legs from meningitis when she was two, Lydia, the daughter of a former soldier from Braunton, Devon, has thrown herself into charity fundraising. So far she has raised an estimated £60,000 for Help for Heroes and the…